As students decide what they will be taking to Grandma’s house, they will explore the difference between wants and needs.

We Can Earn Money

Financial and Economic Concepts: Earning an Income

Kindergarten – Social Studies

Standard 4: Students can explain how humans meet their needs in many ways.

Objective 2: Explain that people have jobs and earn money to meet their needs.

Time: 30 minutesMaterials: Computers to do interactive activities, hats or pictures of hats, worksheet (embedded in the lesson plan), pencils

Students use the online interactive activities, class discussion, and a worksheet activity to learn about how people earn money. They will learn about different types of jobs; the skills, clothing and equipment required and which types of jobs are paying jobs.

Hide various coins in the sand table. Give students little shovels to find the coins and small paint brushes to “clean them”. Then have the students deposit the coins in one of four corresponding containers (penny, nickel, dime, quarter). Make sure the containers are clearly labeled with both a picture of the coin (or actual coin glued on) and the name of the coin.

Give each student a strip of construction paper to lay coins on for making patterns. Have a container of coins to share and let them each make their own pattern with the coins. Then they should “read” the pattern to a friend. For example, “penny, penny, dime, penny, penny, dime…”

Play Bankrupt!: Set up the game with a container and popsicle sticks. Glue a plastic or real coin to each stick. On a few sticks write “Bankrupt”. Place all of the sticks in the can, then students will take turns pulling one out at a time. They read the coin either saying its name or its value (or both). If they are right, they keep the stick, if not it goes back in the can. If they pull a “Bankrupt” stick, they put all of their sticks back in the can.

Read each sentence to the students and instruct them to circle the answer they like best.

Review the sheets together and discuss the difference between needs and wants. The students should realize that in some situations more than one item may be necessary, i.e., to take a bath you need both soap and water. In other cases, what is necessary for one person may not be necessary for someone else, i.e., the flat tire on a bicycle may require a new tire in some situations.